DJ'sMom

Well, I got excited too soon DJ is definitely molting. When I scratch his head, tiny feathers fall down like snowflakes and I feel pins. When I saw he was molting I decided (now kicking myself) to use a bird bath spray that I've used in the past before we had plucking issues. The spray has aloe and preening oil, I started using it on Wednesday, used it again on Thursday...then Friday I noticed his face was a little red and thought he might be having a reaction to the spray. Didn't use it again but didn't use Avitech either, I was worried about piling on different products, I should have given him a fresh water shower - kicking myself again. Friday when I got home from work, I noticed lots of different size grey feathers on the floor...I attributed it to the molt because since he's been plucking, I've only seen pins and down feathers. Saturday came around and I saw more grey feathers on the floor, when I picked him up, I noticed he did more plucking damage in that 24 hours than he has since this all began months ago - how can it be?????? He pulled all those feathers from his neck and chest and now when he's dry, the bald spots are very noticeable where as before he had to be wet to see them. This is the worst of it since we started this journey. Not sure if it is the molt,the "other" spray, stress or a combo of it all. He was acting stressed out Saturday and again yesterday...pacing, climbing,flapping, randomly taking off from his cage as if he was spooked by something but there was nothing I could see that could have been causing him to just take flight as if frightened. I did notice that the complex landscapers were here yesterday while he as alone and I know DJ doesn't do very well with the sound of their equipment...this could have contributed to him acting so stressed. The only thing that calmed him was when he saw my husband come home from work. He then was very calm, sat on the couch with us for over an hour, played his usual one on one games with hubby and then looked for head scratches from me. He went to bed with no problem but this morning was very aggressive towards me. He was being territorial with his cage....he is NEVER like that with me. I can touch whatever I want and it doesn't phase him. This morning he was standing on his food bowl so I couldn't take it. When I moved to the water bowl he started biting on the bars of his cage like a little beast...and followed me to each bowl acting the same way...biting at the bars on the cage as if trying to attack me for touching "his stuff". I ignored him and put my hand inside his cage to clean up some shredded paper. He lunged as if to bite me...I gave a stern NO, he immediately backed off but was not happy at all. His eyes were pinned and his feathers were all spiked and puffy and he gave me his high pitched chirp of disapproval...but allowed me to do what I had to do. I trusted him not to bite me because he never does. If he would've bit me, I guess I would have had to take one for the team. When I got home from work today, he was outside of his cage very calm but he knew the shower was coming. He ran inside the cage, I sprayed him while in there and he was very feisty throughout the entire shower. Again biting at the bars of the cage. He is also very aggressive when he is preening...when he dries off after showers, he preens naturally - not plucking, but he has been doing it ferociously...does not look normal. Also aggressive with his shredding toys...he kind of looks psychotic with the way he is ripping at them. Maybe the discomfort of the molt has him like this???? I have no idea what else could be aggravating him. When I was ordering a new batch of Avitech, I noticed chamomile flower supplement...I just e-mailed the vet to see what he thinks about me giving DJ this to calm him down from this nervous/stressed feeling he has been displaying for a few days. If the vet says no, then I just might drink the entire bottle myself And this is where we are at right now.

Another DJ update....He and I have just learned that he can fly again! He has been in a great mood, showering like a champ, very affectionate afterwards. Has been singing and talking to the squirrels while looking out the window, totally acting like his old self again. I've been playing loud music all week, he has been singing and dancing. He has not plucked a single feather or pin in a week since I went back to showering twice a day - we had a set back 2 weeks ago, I gave him a break from showering one Sunday and then we went to my mom's for about 6 hours and I came home to lots of plucking evidence so I've been now been spraying him with the anti pluck solution in the morning then a fresh water shower in the afternoon when I get home from work -which is less stressful for him and a lot quicker soaking action. Hubby was in bed, it was past 11PM, DJ was very vocal and calling me over to scratch his head every 10 minutes, of course I oblige but one time I got up and went into the kitchen and next thing I know, he flew about 20 feet from his cage past the kitchen and landed directly on his play stand in the dark dinette area, outside the kitchen. I am shocked that he was able to land on his target without a problem....when I heard the "helicopter sound" I was whispering DJ what are you doing??? Looking on the floor for him but he wasn't there. I then see him standing tall, and prancing around his play stand all proud of himself wagging his tail, singing, talking and making wild bird calls past 11PM!! Of course, at this point he was king and was refusing to step up to go back to his cage so I walked to his cage and was trying to coax him into flying back but he was flapping vigorously like he wanted to but didn't have the nerve. So then I walked back to him and he gladly stepped up and continued to flap for the entire walk back to his cage (I even got wing slapped in the face OUCH!) so since he was flapping, I gave it a shot and when we were about a foot away from his cage I let him go and he landed very nicely on his cage. I'm very happy but also very nervous at the same time. Yesterday while I was spraying him, he was at the roof of his cage enjoying it (yaaayyyy!) but when he decided he had enough he flew over my head and back to the same location of the play stand but that time he hit it without landing on it, and the crash nearly gave me a heart attack. When he is clipped, his cage is open all day and he can go in and out and use his play gym next to his cage. I do not like to keep it open when he can fly, so I'm not sure how that will affect him - the vet says he doesn't think it will make a difference because "he really can't go anywhere anyway when he is clipped and may need the confidence of flying to stop plucking" - I just desperately want to do the right thing and am taking the vet's advice on this one. So we are now officially back to flighted and DJ now knows it...the king of the house is back. Wish me luck!!!

Just thought I would pop in to update on my DJ. I am still treating with Feather-In every day, red palm oil 3x a week and humidifier going 24/7. The good news is...we have nice feather re-growth on his back in between his wings where it was bare and he has finally molted 4 clipped feathers from the wing that didn't molt at the same time as the other - hopefully him getting balance will help this plucking as well. He actually enjoyed ONE shower last week...he was loving it. Flapping and fluffing up and really going nuts with the water. Even when he's not enjoying it I notice when I stream (thanks to the advice from about links) under his wings, he actually lifts them up ever so slightly for me to get under there and his face almost looks like he's saying aaahhhhhh...even though he then starts to bite at the spray bottle. His chest, legs and under his wing are still having bald spot issues. His chest may even look a bit worse to me, hoping it's part of the molt.

Fumes from heated vinegar will burn your eyes and your nose right off your face, so this is a great point to bring across about how harmful it could be to birds. To remove dried poop and fruit from DJ's cage I use a mixture of water, 1 TBL of vinegar and 1 TBL of lemon juice in a spray bottle...it literally melts it all away. They use Pine Sol to clean my office and I need to leave while it's being done the smell is overwhelming, not much better after it dries either. I get an instant headache. My bathroom is no where near DJ but when I clean it with bleach I have the door closed the entire time with the window open. I don't open the door again until the smell is gone. I've heard horror stories about birds dying just from someone simply leaving an open bottle of rubbing alcohol in the same room as their bird...no chances taken here when it comes to any fumes at all.

My almost 8 year old Grey has suddenly started plucking...lots of info on the link below. Hope it helps. I've noticed some of my baby's bald spots growing back in but I don't want to get too excited too soon. Good Luck! http://www.greyforums.net/forums/showthread.php?197982-Plucking-%28

Thanks again for the wise words. Very helpful info Dave and yes, I am a worrier by fault especially when it comes to my baby, sorry if I come across as neurotic but I most certainly am...LOL! DJ doesn't like the spraying but if he is perched on my hand while it's happening he is very calm, he even kisses me while I'm spraying but he's not enjoying it at all, I can tell he is nervous about it. No growling, no biting, never any screaming involved. The worst of it is when he's hiding in the corner of his cage so that I can't get him out to spray him. At that time he is aggressive and not obeying step up. Then I empty out the cage and spray him while he is in it...this makes him upset. He will run around away from the bottle and try to bite the nozzle, but still no growling or screaming. I do have to say that his attitude afterwards is getting much better. I think that as much as he hates it, he realized I would NEVER do anything to hurt him. Question....do I have to wait for a molt to see any changes in these bald spots or do feathers constantly grow?? At what point of plucking do the feathers no longer grow back again??

Just checking in to let you all know that the plucking situation is still with us and on Monday I found A LOT of plucking evidence at the bottom of his cage. I I have been backing off on the spraying with the Avitech from twice a day to once every other day because he hates it so much, but that has proved itself to be a bad decision. Yesterday I was home all day with him and sprayed him with the Avitech twice and not one sign of plucking all day but he looked worse wet yesterday than he did on Saturday Also, now when he is dry there is an obvious bald spot on his chest...this is totally going to drive me insane. The humidifier arrived this morning, I am soooo hoping that it helps somewhat.

Is her cage wide enough for her to spread her wings without hitting the sides? Is it possible that her wings are getting caught up in something? Is she is falling off a perch when you're not around, maybe breaking the feathers when she falls??

Our wonderful new vet e-mailed me on Wednesday to check on DJ - love this vet! I received another e-mail from him this morning...preliminary blood work looks great and the test for Circovirus (PBFD) is negative. I responded to his e-mail asking if we are waiting on anything else to come back. So now to work on getting this plucking under control. DJ is getting too smart for me and it is getting more difficult for me to spray him with the Feather-In - this week he's only been sprayed 3 times On Wednesday he refused to come out of his cage knowing the shower was waiting. But after about an hour of hiding he went to his water bowl and started begging for a shower - problem is - it was 6:00 at night, not enough time for him to dry for bedtime. When I got home from work yesterday, he didn't give me a hard time and was even kissing me while I was spraying him Hopefully he is realizing that he likes it. The vet recommended Red Palm Oil...DJ had his first dose last night in his baby food bedtime treat, it went very well. Vet also recommended a humidifier and I'm getting that today - just wondering if a humidifier is safe for the electronics in my living room ?? Is that a stupid question?? LOL! Also spectrum lighting - although it makes me nervous because DJ did get a sunburn on his face a few years ago from one of these and I got rid of it. I thought about just getting a bulb and putting it in the high hat above his cage but I'm pretty sure that it won't be close enough to be beneficial. Thanks for all the advice and well wishes...we appreciate it

Thanks Dave! Glad to hear confirmation because I tried to use my better judgement last night and put 1/4 tsp in his warm baby food snack that he gets every night before bed. I put it in the baby food while still in the solid state and then microwaved it together for 10 seconds. It mixed in very nicely and he ate it up. Now to work on the humidifier and lighting.

Our new vet recommended red palm oil. I just received it today and I do not understand how much to give. Do you all use a syringe to measure?? How else would I determine .1 - .3ml ????

DJ did great at the vet! No screaming at all, I couldn't believe it and the vet repeated several times how impressive DJ's good behavior was. There was some growling during the physical exam while he was restrained but not one scream. The vet was AWESOME...he sat with us for over half an hour asking questions and taking lots of notes before the exam even started. DJ just sat on the examination table very calmly the entire time. One of the first things he commented on was how DJ's right wing is just about fully flighted and the left one is still clipped with the clipped feathers that have not fallen out yet. He didn't recommend clipping the right one to match, he preferred allowing the left one to molt and grow to match the right and keep him flighted for a while. Of course there could be 100's of reasons why he started plucking but he did mention that the wing imbalance could be a big part of it. Says that DJ knows his body better than all of us and if something is not right and causing him not to molt in sync, he may very well be trying to help it along by pulling old feathers out, but it becoming a habit is causing him to pull new blood feather out as well. He wants me to continue spraying him with the Avitech because he says it helps him remember how to preen in a healthy, normal way and when wet they are less likely to pluck. He says the plucking is a very mild case - so far - and he has not damaged his skin at all. He said DJ has excellent muscle form - nice and dense and everything else with the physical part was normal - eyes, nose, ears, vent, no sores on his feet etc... Also noticed that DJ is not a nervous and scared bird so he is most likely not neurotically plucking but something is obviously "off" or he wouldn't be doing it. He did recommend a humidifier and spectrum lighting (which I got rid of because it gave DJ a sunburn on his face) told me to use a lower voltage. More showers and try to keep his sleep schedule on point every night. He asked me if he's been displaying mating behavior more than usual and does he have a person that he views as a mate - yes, that would be cousin/bird sitter Eggie who has not been around as often anymore. The first time he came by since the summer was on Christmas Day, he was only here for 5 minutes and the minute DJ saw him he started regurgitating. After that he has been very sexual with his toy bell...sexual frustration could also be another reason. All things that I've already researched were discussed, although it was good to hear it coming from the vet. So once the blood work comes back we will know more. If that is normal, it is really just a process of elimination in trying to decipher what the problem is and no guarantees that we ever will - which of course I already know. Also, could just be a phase that he will suddenly snap out of or something he will continue - in his words...."we will never completely know completely goes on in bird brain world". The only time I got a little nuts was when they took him away to draw the blood. I felt like he was gone too long and was getting very nervous - are you shocked?? LOL. When he came back he was so happy to see me and wanted some cuddling. When we got home he took a nap. He has been very cuddly ever since.

Leaving in one hour to the vet visit. I'm a bag of nerves. I will check in with details of our visit. Thank you all for your input, I really appreciate it

OMG...Dave, words cannot describe the huge sigh of relief I just got from reading your post.

I've had him for 7 years. I value your opinion and thank you for it. I would like to know what type of shots they are so I am prepared if this suggestion comes up at our visit. DJ has only been to Avian Certified vets and the last 2 were horrible (for different reasons) which is why I gave up. The first wasn't traumatizing like the second was. The first was very shady and adjusted pricing according to how much you are willing to spend - which I did not like at all. He had the attitude that if your bird is your life then you will be willing to pay dearly for it. He saw I was a nervous wreck after losing a baby Grey that I bought without knowing he had respiratory issues. When the breeder/pet shop replaced the lost bird with my DJ, I wanted to be sure all was OK with a full physical and he suggested this particular Avian vet. I explained all of my concerns to him, he saw I was a nervous wreck and took advantage of the situation - disgusting. After the exam, while I was waiting to pay the receptionist she told me the bill wasn't ready yet. So I walked around with DJ and I actually heard the vet on the phone with the breeder asking him "How much do you think I can get her to spend?" with a chuckle. I pretty much went ballistic, he thought it was funny and insisted those were his prices and the phone conversation had nothing to do with the way I was billed. Of course I paid the bill, it was mine after all. Afterwards, I wrote him a nasty letter and put an appropriate review online - but that was in 2006 - water under the bridge, he will never see me again. The next Avian vet was just a joke and I wish I would have read the reviews online before taking DJ there...again lesson learned. I chose this new place because birds and exotics are the only animals they allow in and they have several Avian Certified Vets on the premises. It is also the closest to me that seems reputable and I also know someone with a Grey who swears by the place. I've had him for 7 years and do not have a specific "go to" Avian vet and that does not sit well with me, so this is an opportunity for me to start a relationship as well. I just don't know if I've chosen the wrong time to do this. DJ is generally not a nervous bird and is very well socialized. He is not afraid of new toys - he welcomes them and gets excited when he sees a new toy. He travels in the car with us all the time, he comes to crazy Sunday dinner at my mom's all the time. I have a bird sitter who stays at my home when we go away and DJ absolutely LOVES him. The only time he is fearful is when he hears the garbage truck outside - he can hear it from blocks away. Once he hears it, he starts pacing and waving his foot around to be picked up. Once he is near the dining room table where there are no windows and he can't hear the truck he is totally fine. The problem is - my bird is my life as well and as much as my gut told me to make the appointment I am now doubting myself. As I mentioned, I desperately want to do the right thing. Thanks for your input about your birds enjoying vet visits when done properly, I will take it into consideration while I chew my fingernails down at the thought of this entire thing.